Can you feel the love tonight?
Many students ponder this question on the day dedicated to love. Chocolates to teddy bears, singing grams to the famous red rose, guys and gals alike are pulling out all the stops this Valentines Day.
Although a traditional approach, flower shops are especially excited during this time of the year. Wafting in sweet fragrances, each with a promise to bring love to its receiver, bouquets fly out the doors of many family-owned flower shops in the Laramie community.
Fresh Fantasy Flowers, located on Grand Ave., is prepared to dazzle their customers with their selection of Valentines Day specialties. For 30 years, the store has provided flower arrangements for a variety of occasions. Terri Collings, owner of the store since last Christmas, was excited to be apart of a “good business”.
“I was lucky to have great floral designers with me when I started to help me get in the swing of things,” said Collings.
However, Collings is ready for one of the largest holidays in the flower industry.
“We have singing deliveries for the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of Valentines Day weekend,” said Collings. “a couple of seniors from the University of Wyoming are music majors and work at the shop. They volunteered to do this to help spread love on Valentines day by delivering flowers to customers with a song. They have arranged 11 songs , but also accept special requests.”
This added bonus, Collings believes, will attract the college students and adults alike. Also, the shop offers the traditional red rose bouquet with other flower arrangements.
“of course we have red roses,” said Collings. “we created these little chocolate meals as well where each item is made to look like a food , such as a cheeseburger and fries, but are made entirely out of chocolate and cookies. Its like a mini chlorate meal.”
Creative solutions to the ordinary ideas that Valentine’s day presents, Collings insists that the idea of romance is still alive and well in the community.
“I have seen guys in their 20’s to over 50 years old come in this shop to purchase goods for their sweethearts,” said Collings. “Even men who have only been dating their girlfriends for a couple weeks come to get big arrangements.”
The idea of love has continued to spread across flower shops in the community, arriving at the Conner Flower shop. With 35 years of business under her belt, Tatty King, owner of the shop, as a history rooted Laramie.
“I saw a good deal when the shop came into my possession and I ran with it,” said King.
Her goal set on pleasing every love bird that walks through the shop’s door, King strives to remind her customers to express their love this Valentines day.
“I like Valentines Day because it reminds me of love and its purpose,” said King. “People enjoy expressing their love.”
In fact, King recommends her favorite arrangement to break the cliche within the red rose stereotype.
“I love the pink Lilly display because its different from the normal Valentines Day arrangements,” said King. “They not only smell great, but give guys the chance to break tradition.”
As flower shops near and far continue to cut, trim, and wrap dozens of flower orders for loved ones, students are also getting ready for the upcoming holiday by debating the question of purchasing flowers themselves.
“I think flowers are a wonderful gesture for Valentines Day, but also a tired concept. It just needs to be done in a creative and tasteful way,” said Zach O’Brian, a Psychology major at Metro State University. “I buy white roses because they’re her favorite and I consider that different enough. Plus flowers have different meaning depending on color and type. Red roses are just overdone. And, in my opinion, flowers are a gesture more than a gift; in the same way cooking dinner isn’t a gift with permanence either, that’s what I think makes it a gesture. If you put them in the gift category I would say they’re a supplementary present.”
Students agreed unanimously that flowers can be a great add-on to a already existing Valentines Day gift.
“I feel like flowers would be a cute “in addition to” present, but the red roses seem to be a little tired. Maybe when you are first starting out in a relationship red roses are a good gesture, but when you really get to know one another other flowers have more meaning for different reasons and that makes it more sentimental and a better gift,” said Emily Weiss, a Psychology major at the University of Denver.
I also feel like flowers are too expensive for what they are, and if you are going to spend $30 on a bouquet of flowers for me that will wither in a week I would have preferred that the money had been spent on having a fun memory of a great evening out instead”
Single or happily taken, students are prepared to bring love to many this Valentines day with the help of flower shops.
